Solo GURPS: Agor Widepalm, Session #2

Solo GURPS: Agor Widepalm, Session #2

Let's continue to story of Agor Widepalm.

Previous sessions:

Session #1 - link.

Scene 4

Setup: Agor goes to Nurataer's house.

CF: 5

Character List: Agor Widepalm, Sib Graygulf, Nurataer Thunderchest, unknown man.

Thread List: Deal with the book.

Chaos Roll: Normal Scene.

Last time, Agor Widepalm remembered a friend-of-a-friend, Nurataer Thunderchest, who was studying wizardry abroad and was expelled. He should be interested in the book Ago got his hands on, and probably would not only provide some insight about its contents, but also buy it.

Detail Check Question: What does Nurataer's house look like?

Detail Check Table Result: Disfavors PC.

Meaning Table (Description): Playfully Ancient.

Agor approaches Nurataer's house. Agor was no mason, but even he immediately saw that a large part of the building is very old, partially damaged. Newer, younger stonework contrasted with the old stone blocks, making the building look distastefully. Agor respected older people, and to him this counted as disrespect towards the work of older people. He knocks on the door.

Fate Question: Anybody home?

Modifiers: Very Likely (+2).

Fate Check Result: Yes.

As we found out before, Nurataer is not the most sociable person.

"Who's there?" he asks from behind the door. "I'm not expecting anyone."

[Now, lets make Reaction rolls. Nurataer probably reacts at others, especially strangers, at a penalty. Let's say that it's a -1 penalty. Agor probably projects his Respects older people quirk on the wizard, reacting to him at a +1. However, the distasteful building negates this bonus. Racial Stubbornness gives both of them a -1 Reaction penalty. I made the rolls, and Nurataer got a Neutral reaction towards Agor, and Agor got a Good reaction towards Nurataer. Interesting.]

After introducing himself and explaining the purpose of the visit, Agor was let inside. [I guess the Neutral reaction should be enough for that.] When one thinks of a wizard, one usually imagines a frail man, but Nurataer's physique would put not only Agor to shame, but probably even a professional soldier. Maybe he stays at home all the time because he's too busy working out?

[Now, let's determine Nurataer's Thaumatology skill level. In Mythic Variations 2, there is the statistics check. Logically speaking, a wizards should have Thaumatology as a strong attribute, but considering the fact that Nurataer was expelled from the academy, let's not give him any bonuses. I rolled 2d10 and got 11, which corresponds to Expected Baseline. That should be around Thaumatology-12 in GURPS.]

The most important thing on Agor's mind is selling the book. He gives Nurataer the book for inspection. [Thaumatology roll for Nurataer. He gets a 14, that's a failure.] The wizard, not understanding the contents of the book properly, is unlikely to buy it.

Fate Question: Will Nurataer buy the book?

Modifiers: Unlikely (-2).

Fate Check Result: No.

"This is a piece of incomprehensible trash!" Nurataer exclaims when asked if he is willing to buy it. "No way I'm buying it!"

Dwarves are stubborn, it is a well-known fact. Agor will try to persuade him with Fast-Talk.

[Rolling against Fast-Talk-12. Got a 7. We need to know Nurataer's Will, so let's make a statistics check. I roll 2d10 and get 7, which corresponds to Expected Baseline. Wizards probably have IQ more than 11, so let's set the expected baseline at Will 12. I roll against Will 12 and get an 11. That means that Agor wins.]

Agor quickly not only described the lightning ritual he managed to "successfully" perform, but also added some extra lies about the book's origin and properties. This changed Nurataer's mind, and he buys the book for $250 [1dx50, just a number I came up with.] Agor notices that this mage has quite a lot of money. It's is quite likely that he has more. Agor asks Nurataer is he has a job or a chore for him.

Fate Question: Does Nurataer have a job for him?

Modifiers: Likely (+2). [He doesn't get out much and probably would like for somebody else to do something for him.]

Fate Check Result: Yes.

Detail Check Question: What is the job?

Detail Check Table Result: Disfavors PC.

Meaning Table (Action): Mistrust Home.

Nurataer conveys that he does indeed have something he'd like Agor to do. Nurataer's brother, Galgrad Thunderchest, started to buy expensive clothes and other items while being a guide. Helping merchants and travelers navigate is not something that brings enough money to support that sort of lifestyle. Nurataer, not believing his brother's justifications, asks Agor to spy on his brother and find out where he gets the money. Since Galgrad works in the wilderness, it's going to be a difficult task for Agor, who is more used to urban activities.

[There's a blog on GURPS solo adventures - the Collaborative Gamer. Let's use some of the tables there to determine the reward. I roll 3d on the How Much Does It Pay? table and get a 10 - standard rates. For a Peril 1 adventure, this is $150. Neat.]

Agor agrees and goes to the marketplace to buy some gear. Preparation is key! First, he buys a light medium shield (p. LT114). [He has the Shield skill, but I forgot to buy him an actualy shield.] He also gets five extra traveler's rations and a large knife. You never know what will happen to your weapon, and a knife can be useful in general.

The job probably will require some shadowing and perhaps even tracking. While Agor knows some skills that some street rogues might possess, he is completely inept in terms of stealth. [He'd have to roll against IQ-5 to do Shadowing, and that's... bad.] Agor contemplates finding a hireling to do the job for him, but that would mean that he'll have to pay him. [Roll against Miserliness (12). Got a 9. Good.] Agor Widepalm decides that he is willing to part with $75 to pay the hireling.

Chaos Factor: The scene was in Agor's control. We will decrease the Chaos Factor to 4.

Scene 5

Setup: Agor looks for a hireling.

CF: 4

Character List: Agor Widepalm, Sib Graygulf, Nurataer Thunderchest, Galgrad Thunderchest, unknown man.

Thread List: Find out where Galgrad Thunderchest gets his money.

Chaos Roll: Normal Scene.

[All right, let's bust out GURPS Social Engineering, because it has rules for looking for hirelings (and it's a great book in general). Gravolm is supposed to be a large town or a small city. Population of 7,000 sounds just about right. That gives us a +0 modifier to the search roll. Agor is going to be looking for a criminal, so he will be rolling against Streetwise, as per Concealed Activities. Also, Area Knowledge can be used as a complementary skill. There's no bonuses for advertising or high pay. I think I will even assign a -1 penalty because the pay is low, even though the rules say nothing about that. So, let's first roll against Area Knowledge-12. I got a 10. Thus, I get a +1 bonus on my Streetwise roll. Now, I roll against Streetwise-13. I got a 9. That's a success. Page 518 of GURPS Basic Set states that in places where slavery is legal, there is a 50% chance that the hireling is a slave. Let's flip a coin. The result says that the hireling is not a slave. We also have to determine his/her loyalty. The loyalty roll should take a -5 penalty, because the person is severely underpaid. Let's make a Reaction roll. The result is Bad, which translates to "The NPC has no respect for the PCs. He will leave or betray them with even moderate temptation, and doesn’t work hard for them." It's actually not that bad, considering the -5 penalty.]

Agor meets up with his hireling, a male dream dwarf who does not even want to reveal his name because of the nature of the job and the low pay. He just asked Agor to call him Friend. [I rolled his personality traits and got introverted, tardy, and immoral]. Of course, Friend was late to the meeting, but Agor wasn't in a situation to choose another hireling. He described the job, gave Friend $25 in advance, and promised to give him $50 more once the job is done. Agor also scheduled their next meeting. Friend took the money and left, presumably to do the job.

Fate Question: A very important question. Will the hireling actually do the job?

Modifiers: Very Unlikely (-4).

Fate Check Result: No.

Four day [I rolled a 1d] pass, and Friend does not report back. Agor is not very surprised, but that was worth a shot, right? [And I got to see the hireling search rules in action.] $25 was lost to Friend, and $20 was spent on drugs, Agor has only $145 left. There's no choice but to go do the job by yourself and try to not get caught.

Chaos Factor: The scene was not in Agor's control. We will increase the Chaos Factor to 5.

Scene 6

Setup: Agor goes to Galgrad's place, planning to shadow the dwarf.

CF: 5

Character List: Agor Widepalm, Sib Graygulf, Nurataer Thunderchest, Galgrad Thunderchest, Friend, unknown man.

Thread List: Find out where Galgrad Thunderchest gets his money.

Chaos Roll: Altered Scene.

Agor arrives to Galgrad house, planning to wait and see when the dwarf goes outside, then follow him. However, he notices that Friend is standing there, leaning his back against the neighboring building, trying to not look suspicious.

Detail Check Question: What is he doing there?

Detail Check Table Result: Fear.

Meaning Table (Action): Malice Physical.

Agor realizes that he messed up. Telling some random petty criminal he found on the streets about his job, the wealthy "prey", and underpaying the said criminal was a mistake. Agor fears that Friend is here to tell Galgrad that he is being spied on and gain some extra money from that.

Friend notices Agor, nonchalantly takes out a large knife and winks at Agor, implying that he should stay away, or else he's going to get shanked. [Roll against Bad Temper (12). Got 15]. While Agor was indeed scared, he was also pissed. Who is this guy who basically robs him and then tries such intimidation tricks? Agor is going to beat him up.

Fate Question: Is Agor armed and armored?

Modifiers: Likely (+2). He was planning to follow Galgrad to the wilderness after all.

Fate Check Result: Yes.

Agor takes out his spear and gestured Friend towards an alleyway between the buildings. There's no use making a scene where other people might see them and call the guards, plus it's easier to take advantage of the spear's reach in a narrow alley.

Detail Check Question: What does the alleyway look like?

Detail Check Table Result: Favors PC.

Meaning Table (Action): Frighteningly Ugly.

While the middle and upper class dwellings here looked splendid, as soon as you turn away from the main streets, things get ugly. Heaps of trash, horrible smell, rats and centipedes. However, these obstacles make it easier to control space with a spear.

[I won't use Mythic GM Emulator's NPC behavior checks for combat. Instead, I will use something I found online. I have that post as a PDF, but I do not remember where I got it. Let's assign an Aggresiveness rating of 4 to Friend.]

Let's make a series of statistics checks (no modifiers) to determine Friend's capabilities. I will list the values chosen and the results of the checks in the parenthesis.

ST: 10 (More)                           HP: 12 (Expected Baseline)        Basic Speed: 6.25 (Very Strong)

DX: 10 (Expected Baseline)     Will: 13 (More)                           Basic Move: 7 (Very Strong)

IQ: 12 (Strong)                          Per: 13 (More)                            Dodge: 9

HT: 11 (Expected Baseline)      FP: 12 (Expected Baseline)

Knife-13 (Strong)

Thrown Weapon (Knife)-14 (Very Strong)

[Wow, he's fast. Let's determine the starting distance between Agor and Friend by rolling 2d. I got a 5. Now let's roll 1d and 2d. Got 1 and 6. Since this is round #1, Friend cannot repeat the previous tactic. Thus, we add his Aggressiveness rating to 6 and get 10, which corresponds to Stand-Off.]

Friend's reaction is much faster than Agor's, so he is the one to initiate the fight. However, instead of attacking, he Evaluates. Agor spends 1 FP to perform a Heroic Charge, moves 3 yards forward, and attempts to stab Friend in the torso from 2 yards away. [Roll against Spear-13. Got 11. Friend attempts to dodge. He also spends 1 FP to do a Feverish Dodge, so he rolls against 11. Gets an 11 - spending the FP made the difference.] 

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 4, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 4, which corresponds to Probe after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

Friend evades the attack, steps forward, and swings his knife, aiming at Agor's right arm. [Roll against Knife-12 (13 - 2 arm + 1 Evaluate). Got 12. Agor attempts to parry with his spear, rolling against 9. Gets a 9]. Agor parries the swing, takes a step back, then tries to stab again. [Roll against Spear-13. Got a 9. Friend tries to dodge, rolling against 9. Rolls a 12. Agor rolls 1d+1 impaling damage, resulting in 4].

Fate Question: Wait a second. Is Friend armored?

Modifiers: None.

Fate Check Result: No.

The stab deals 4 points of impaling damage, which translates into 8 points of injury. That's a major wound, let's roll HT. [Roll against HT 11. Gets a 8]. However, Friend is still standing, not even reeling from the wound.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 5, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 9, which corresponds to Reverse after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

Friend goes into All-Out Defense (Double) to recover from shock. Agor tries to stab Friend's weapon arm. [Roll against Spear-11. Get 10. First, Friend tries to dodge. Roll against Dodge 9, get 11. Then, he tries to parry. Roll against Parry 8. Gets a 8. Close!] However, Friend barely manages to deflect the blow.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 5, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 7, which corresponds to Balance after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

Friend steps forward and slashes at Agor's face. [Roll against Knife-8. Gets a 8. Agor tries to parry with his spear. Roll against Parry 9. Gets 11. Grim. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage and gets 2. This translates into 3 points of injury. Let's also use an optional injury roll from GURPS Martial Arts to see if the nose got hit. I roll 1d and get a 4 - just a normal face hit.] This cut has got to leave a scar after it heals. Agor steps back and does not stop his assault despite the shock. He forgoes stabbing limbs and goes for the torso again. [Roll against Spear-10. Got a 15.] But the strike goes wide.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 3, which means that the tactic stays the same - Balance between offense and defense.

Friend decides to step forward and swings at Agor's right arm. [Roll against Knife-11. Gets 11. Agor tries to parry. Roll against Parry 9. Gets a 10. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage. Gets a 2 again. Agor takes 3 points of injury.] Agor becomes angry, steps back, and spends 1 FP to deliver a Mighty Blows stab at Friend's torso. [Roll against Spear-10. Gets a 15. Things are not going well.]

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 5, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 12, which corresponds to Strike after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

Friend spends 1 FP to make a Heroic Charge runaround attack (he has enough Move to do that), slashing at Agor's neck from behind. [Roll against Knife-8. Gets a 14. That's a miss.] Agor turns around and takes a Ready maneuver to switch from Reach 2 to Reach 1.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 2, which means that the tactic stays the same - quick Strike.

Friend steps into close combat and swings at Agor's right arm again. [Roll against Knife-11. Gets a 9. Agor tries to parry, rolling against Parry 9. Gets a 10. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage, gets a 1. Agor takes 1 more injury.] Agor steps back and try to deliver a Deceptive Strike (-2 to skill/-1 to defense) at Friend's torso. [Roll against Spear-11. Gets a 8. Friend rolls against Dodge 8. Gets 11. Agor rolls 1d+1 impaling damage. Gets a 7. That translates into 10 points of injury.] This is not only a major wound, but also a strike that brings Friend into negative HP. First, he rolls against HT to avoid knockdown. Gets a 13. He is stunned! On his own turn, he rolls against HT again to recover. Gets an 11, so he should be able to act next turn.

Agor, seeing that his opponent is stunned, thought not about finishing him off, but about running away. There's already blood on his hands, and having a dead body would not be good. He turns around and runs 3 yards.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 4, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 5, which corresponds to Wear Down after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 7, that's enough. He runs 3 yards (he is able to do that even when reeling), spends 1 FP for a Heroic Charge, and tries a grapple Agor with one hand. [Roll against DX-10. Gets a 7. Agor cannot defend, since this is an attack from the back, so he is grappled.]

Agor tries to break free. [This is a Quick Contest of ST, Friend gets no bonus, because he is grappling with a single hand. Agor rolls against Lifting ST-12 and gets an 11. Friend rolls against Lifting ST-12 and gets a 7, retaining the hold.]

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 2, which means that the tactic stays the same - Wear Down.

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 10, that's enough. Friend tries to perform an All-Out (Strong) takedown. [I just found out that there is no penalty for performing a takedown with only one arm. Or maybe I'm missing some rules. This is a Quick Contest. Friend rolls against his Lifting ST+2 (14), and Agor rolls against his Lifting ST (12). Friend rolls a 8, Agor rolls a 16.] Agor falls to the ground, and goes from prone to kneeling on his turn.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 4, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 11, which corresponds to Press after adding the Aggressiveness rating.

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 6, that's enough. Friend goes for a Committed Attack (Determined) swing at Agor's neck. [Roll against Knife-10. Rolls a 7. This is very dangerous! Agor tries to Feverishly (+2) parry with his spear. Rolls against Parry 9. Rolls a 8. That was close.] Agor then stands up.

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 5, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 11, which corresponds to Press after adding the Aggressiveness rating. Well, not really a new tactic.

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 9, that's enough. Friend decides to swing at Agor's right arm again, trying to disable it. [Roll against Knife-11. Rolls a 6. Agor tries a retreating (+1) parry. Roll against Parry 10. Rolls a 12. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage. Gets a 2, which translates into 3 points of injury. As per Accumulated Wounds (p. B420), one point of injury is lost, but the arm gets crippled. In addition, Agor is at 1/3 of his HP now.] Agor becomes unable to use his right arm. Being a stubborn dwarf, he does not give up, hoping that his opponent loses consciousness or bleeds out. He takes a Ready maneuver to switch from a two-handed grip to one-handed. [I guess it's still required to readjust after the arm getting crippled.]

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 3, which means that the tactic stays the same - Press.

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 11, that's enough. He makes a Committed Attack (Determined) swing at Agor's neck. [Roll against Knife-10. Gets a 10. Agor does a retreating (+1) feverish (+2) parry. Rolls against Parry 10. Rolls 16. Let's roll 1d to see if an artery gets hit. I roll 1d and get 4 - a normal neck hit. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage. Gets a 3. This translates into 6 points of injury. This is also a major wound. Let's roll on the Neck Wounds table (GURPS Martial Arts, p. 138). I get 11, so no special effect. Agor rolls HT to avoid stun. Rolls 12. Is stunned. On his turn, he rolls again to recover. Rolls a 5. Can act next turn.]

Tactics Roll: 1d results in a 4, which indicates a change of tactics. 2d results in a 11, which corresponds to Press after adding the Aggressiveness rating. What's up with the dice?

First, Friend rolls against HT to avoid losing consciousness. Gets a 8, that's enough. [The dice love Friend.] There's still only a very low chance of Friend penetrating Agor's armor, so he goes for the throat again. He makes a Committed Attack (Determined) swing at Agor's neck. [Roll against Knife-10. Gets a 11. That hits torso instead. Agor does a retreating (+1) feverish (+2) parry. Rolls against Parry 10. Rolls 11. Friend rolls 1d-2 cutting damage and gets a 3 - it gets abosrbed by armor]. Agor rolls against HT to remain conscious. [Rolls against HT 11, gets a 14.] Agor collapses to the ground and blacks out.

Fate Question: Will Friend finish him off?

Modifiers: Very Likely (+4).

Fate Check Result: Yes.

I guess, he still needs to make an HT roll to stay awake. [Rolls against HT 11, gets a 7.] Agor's body will later be found with several knife wounds and a slit throat. His family and his only friend will grieve, but he was not a beloved citizen, nor a beloved son. Many suspected that things will end this way.

Conclusion

That was a fun experiment! The dice luck wasn't really in my favor though, but that's life. In the end, I found out that solo GURPS is very much playable and enjoyable. That combat tactic chart is a quite nice find too, but it might need some GURPSification. The fight took a long while to resolve. Maybe I'll do another solo game later.